The irony that Nick Kouvalis, right, is now fighting the gravy train is not lost upon opposition councillors. “Nobody in Toronto believes in the gravy train anymore and now we’re finding out Nick Kouvalis never did,” said Gord Perks.

The architect of Rob Ford’s “gravy train” campaign and his first chief of staff at city hall is now helping Toronto firefighters battle the mayor’s proposed cuts, the Star has learned.

Faced with the threat of 300 layoffs, the firefighter’s union hired Nick Kouvalis’s marketing and polling firm, Campaign Research, earlier this summer to conduct research and provide advice in advance of their NotGravy.com offensive.

The site, which launched earlier this month, is coupled with an aggressive campaign to characterize the proposed cuts as “dangerous” and a serious threat to public safety.

The irony that Kouvalis is now fighting the gravy train is not lost upon opposition councillors.

“Nobody in Toronto believes in the gravy train anymore and now we’re finding out Nick Kouvalis never did,” said Gord Perks.

Shelley Carroll said it raises “credibility” issues for the mayor.

Ford’s office refused to comment, but sources within the administration say there have been whispers Kouvalis was involved and that, if true, it was incredibly “frustrating.”

“We feel that we’re on the right track and that we’re doing what’s best for the city,” said one individual, but “we realize we’re in for a huge fight and this doesn’t help.”

Polling has shown the public to be uneasy with the prospect of losing any services.

As a candidate, Ford promised it wouldn’t be necessary, because of the hundreds of millions in wasteful spending. But the mayor balanced his first budget using $600 million in surplus and unexpected windfalls.

After the KPMG reviews were released in July, further confirming the non-existence of gravy, the Ford administration has attempted to transition the language to “nice to haves” and “efficiencies.” Labeling a cut as “gravy” makes it politically easier to push through.

Polling done by Kouvalis’ firm has shown the firefighting union that the public not only doesn’t consider firefighters to be gravy, it is concerned about what budget cuts could do to response times.

Ford has ordered a 10 per cent budget reduction from all departments and emergency services are not exempt. The police have said this means upwards of 1,150 civilian and officer layoffs. The fire department is in a similar situation. With a budget of $371 million, 92.5 per cent of which is tied up in salary and benefits, Fire Chief Bill Stewart said in report this would mean 22 trucks and about 300 firefighters would need to be pulled off the streets to meet that target.

This would mean a 16 per cent service reduction, despite the fact that the KPMG report found that Toronto’s travel time to calls is 24 per cent longer than the council-approved target and that “Toronto has fewer vehicles deployed per capita than other cities in Ontario.”

Kouvalis’ cunning and cut-throat politicking during last year’s mayoral election made the previously unknown conservative strategist from Windsor famous.

When he retired as Ford’s chief of staff in February, Kouvalis turned his focus to his now much sought-after research agency, which he runs with Richard Ciano.

When asked why the union hired Kouvalis, Kennedy said the board felt he was the best. The union has also hired other firms for consulting work.

“I’m sure there are things in the city that are ‘gravy.’ What he was after during the campaign is efficiencies and misspending. Firefighters are examples of neither. We’re a very lean organization,” said Ed Kennedy, the president of the Toronto Professional Fire Fighters’ Association.

Kouvalis did not respond to an interview request.

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